High school girls soccer: 3 goals in 8 minutes give Ogden its second 3A state title in 3 years

SANDY — As 3A squads go in girls soccer, there simply wasn’t anyone close to as talented as Ogden in 2023.

The No. 2 Tigers made sure everyone knew it on Saturday afternoon as they claimed their fifth state championship trophy with a convincing 3-1 win over No. 4 Morgan.

Since moving to 3A in 2021, Ogden has won two of the last three state titles, and Saturday’s matchup was its fifth straight appearance in a state championship game after 4A appearances in 2019 and 2020.

At the end of one of arguably the most dominant campaigns out of all of those years, there were few words Ogden coach Ryan Robinson could employ to describe it.

“Fantastic,” Robinson said simply. “I don’t have a lot of words today. They’re a resilient group … I’m happy for them.”

Fielding more Division I-committed players on the pitch than most 6A schools, the Tigers simply had to cement their legacy by getting past their own region rival, one that they’d beaten soundly twice already this season.

Yet for a decent amount of time on Saturday afternoon, that appeared to be harder than was expected.

Morgan held the Tigers scoreless for the first 38 minutes of the match and weathered a storm of offensive chances from the opposition as Ogden took five shots on goal in the first half.

“You play a team three times, it’s not easy,” Robinson said. “It’s different when you’re in a state championship.”

The finesse of the Ogden offensive front was essentially up against the physical intensity of the Morgan defense. The Trojans took several chances of their own against Ogden’s back line only to come up with a handful of shots, none of which were on goal.

The sheer size of the pitch at America First Field created some issues for Ogden in trying to adjust. Numerous tries at crossing the ball to create an opportunity in front of the goal came up empty simply because the other forward struggled to make it downfield in time.

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“The first half was definitely a little slower than what we wanted,” junior forward Bella Gray said. “We didn’t have the chances that we wanted. We weren’t getting at the end of the ball, so when I had my shot and had some opportunities in the second half, it felt really good.”

Most of Ogden’s shots came from a distance in an effort to rely on its talent, but in the 38th minute, senior Maya Robinson won a battle inside the goalbox and chipped it in for the only goal of the first half.

Even with halftime as a buffer, that goal served to open the floodgates for Ogden. In the first seven minutes of the second half, Ogden tacked on another two scores to take total control of an otherwise tight matchup as Gray and senior Kate Pulley scored off assists from each other.

Gray’s goal was extra-special for her, following in the footsteps of her sister, Bonita, who scored the first goal of Ogden’s 2019 4A state title over Ridgeline.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better. It felt amazing,” Gray said. “Just to score like my sister did back in 2019, it was super sweet. I was really, really happy.”

The Tigers had a penchant for allowing the same quick response goal in multiple playoff games this season, and the title game was no different.

Morgan’s Macie Burton took a 40-yard free kick and shot directly for the net, and it bounced off the hands of Ogden goalie Emily Blackford to put Morgan on the board. It was Morgan’s only shot on goal of the match.

Instead of being a momentum-turner for the Trojans, though, Ogden turned the fire up a little hotter and streaked down the pitch, nearly scoring again within 20 seconds of the goal.

For the remainder of the match, Morgan rarely crossed midfield as the Tigers played defense with their offense.

Among the seniors leaving Ogden includes 2022’s Ms. Soccer recipient, Nevaeh Peregrina. As a University of Portland commit, Peregrina played her final game for the Tigers without a goal or assist, but that didn’t bother her much.

“We brought the championship back to Ogden,” Peregrina said. “I’m livin’ now.”